'EYES ON THE PRIZE

DALLAS — Caitlin Clark overwhelmed the reigning champions with another sensational game, scoring 41 points to help Iowa spoil South Carolina’s perfect season with a 77-73 victory on Friday night in the Final Four.

The spectacular junior guard set a record for the highestscoring semifinal game and became the first women’s player to post back-to-back 40-point performances in the NCAA Tournament. She now has the Hawkeyes in a spot they’ve never been in before — one victory away from a national championship.

“We had nothing to lose. I have all the confidence in the world in this group, and they believe right back in me, and that’s all you need,” Clark said. “All we do is believe in one another and we love each other to death, and that’s what a true team is. If you want an example of a team, that’s what this is.”

They’ll have to beat another SEC team to do that as Iowa (31-6) will face LSU in the title game on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers beat Virginia Tech in the other national semifinal.

Thanks to the spectacular play of Clark and the historic year by South Carolina, this was one of the most talked about and highly anticipated matchups in women’s Final Four history,

The game lived up to the hype surrounding it— the best player vs. the best team — much to the delight of the sellout crowd of over 19,000 fans.

Coach Dawn Staley and South Carolina (36-1) had won 42 in a row, including last year’s championship game.

“It was physical. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit,” Clark said. “They’re a tremendous team, they’ve had a tremendous year, obviously so well-coached.”

This was Iowa’s first appearance in the Final Four in 30 years. The last time the Hawkeyes advanced this far was 1993 and C. Vivian Stringer was the coach of that team that lost to Ohio State in overtime.

Clark wowed the crowd that included Harper Stribe, a young fan of the team who has been battling cancer. She was featured in a surprise video that informed the Hawkeyes’ star that she was the AP Player of the Year.

Zia Cooke led the defending champion Gamecocks with 24 points. Slowed by foul trouble, Aliyah Boston had just eight points and 10 rebounds as the Hawkeyes packed the paint, daring South Carolina to shoot from the outside.

LSU 79, Virginia Tech 72

Alexis Morris scored 27 points and had two of her misses in the fourth quarter turned into putback baskets by Angel Reese in a big run as LSU rallied past top-seeded Virginia Tech.

Reese finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds for LSU (33-2), which is going to the national championship game for the first time.

Tigers coach Kim Mulkey, who won three national titles at Baylor, joins C. Vivian Stringer as the only coaches to take two different teams to the national championship game.

Elizabeth Kitley had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Virginia Tech (31-5), the ACC champion that was in the Final Four for the first time.